Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-09-15
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER Is.
nnst to Dust.

Dust to Dust.
Tomorrow all that is mortal OF our
late Governor will be laid away to
rest forever. The grief at Washington
Bartlett's death is confined by no sec
tional lines in the State, nor by any
class divisions OF the people. All pos
sible honor is to be paid to the men,
ory of this faithful public servant.
The asperities of political parties are
to be smoothed away, as is perfectly
fitting in the face OF the great leveller,
Death, and also in the face of the
great loss the whole State sustains in
the present bereavement.
The obsequies are under the super
vision of William ID. English, chair
man OF the Democratic State Central
Committee; ex-senator A. ?. Will
liams, who holds a similar relation to
the Republican party; William IL.
Jordan, Speaker of the Assembly;
Arthur Rodgers, regent of
the State University, of which
body the Governor was an
ex-officio member, and S. M.
White, president pro tempore OF the
Senate.
1t is announced that among the pail
bearers will be five of the eightsurviv-
ing ex- Governors of California. These
are: Peter II. Burnett, Leland Stan
ford, Newton Booth. F. +. Low and
George G. Perkins. The other sur
viying ex-Governors OF the State are
John G. Downey, Romualdo Pacheco
and George Stoneman. tits more than
probable tlat Ex-Governor Downey
and General Stoneman will be invited
with the other five to take part in the
funeral ceremonies. The former is in
San Francisco, and the latter is in this
city. Mr.. Pacheco is now a resident
of the CITY of Mexico.
In this connection it is interesting to
remark that of the sixteen men who
have filled the office OF Chief
Magistrate of California exactly half
OF them are alive. Peter II. Burnett,
who was the first Governor, being
elected in 1849, before the admission of
the State to the Union, is still with
us. He resigned and was succeeded
by John McDougal. The next Gov
ernor was John Bigler, who was re-
elected and served two full terms. He
was succeeded by J. Neely Johnson,
who was elected on the Native Ameri-
can ticket; and the next Chief Mag
istrate was John B. Weller. His sue
cessor was Milton S. Latham, who
was subsequently chosen United States
Senator, and was succeeded in the gu
bernatorial chair by the Lieutenant
Governor, John G. Downey. Then
came Leland Stanford, and he was
followed by Fred. F. Low, and he by
H. H. Haight. Then came Newton
Booth, subsequently United States
Senator, elected bya single vote, that of
Mr.. Bartlett, who acted with the
tDolly Vardens" on that occasion.
This made Romualdo Pacheco the
Lieutenant Governor, Governor. At
the next election William Irwin was
chosen Governor, and he was sue
ceeded by George C. Perkins. Then
came Gen. George Stoneman, whose
term of office expired the last day
of 1886, and who was succeeded by
Mr.. Bartlett.
There have been, therefore, four
teen gubernatorial elections in the
State. At these elections thirteen
citizens have been chosen to fill the
Office OF Governor, Gen. Bigler being
chosen twice. The State has had,
counting the present incumbent, R.
w. Waterman, four accidental Chief
Magistrates, McDougal made so
by the the voluntary resignation
of Burnett, Downey and Pacheco,
whose colleagues had been elected
United States Senators, and Water
man, who succeeds by the death OF
the Governor, the first instance of the
kind in the history OF the State.
Stanford was the first regularly elected
Republican Governor of the State
Low was also Republican. Since
that time the parties have alternated
in this office down to Bartlett, a Demo
crat, who succeeded Stoneman, of the
same party. Waterman accidentally
renews the rotation. By Constitu
tional amendment the terms of State
officers were changed from two to foul
years, commencing when Low wal
elected Governor.